SPI Pharma seeks renewal of bay, canal discharge permit

SPI Pharma has applied for reissuance of a permit that allows the Lewes-based production facility to discharge treated process wastewater into the Delaware Bay and stormwater in the Lewes-Rehoboth Canal.

According to a June 3 public notice from Delaware Department of Natural Resources and Environmental Control’s Division of Water, SPI Pharma, 40 Cape Henlopen Drive, produces calcium carbonate, magnesium hydroxide and aluminum hydroxide, which are used in the manufacture of antacid medication. The company opened its Lewes facility in 1969.

According to a fact sheet related to permit renewal, SPI Pharma has four discharge sites – one for treated process wastewater site into the bay and three stormwater sites into mosquito control ditches that drain into the canal.

The processed wastewater consists of gravity sedimentation and necessary pH adjustments in the ponds prior to discharge. The permit for the wastewater is based on a discharge rate of 2.64 million gallons per day. 
Based on a preliminary staff review and application of lawful standards and regulations, the department proposes to reissue this permit, subject to certain effluent limitations and conditions. The proposed determinations are tentative.

Comments or objections to the proposed reissuance of the permit must be submitted in writing to the Division of Water’s Surface Water Discharges Section by 4:30 p.m., Thursday, July 2.

A public hearing on the permit will not be held unless DNREC Secretary Shawn Garvin receives a request or if he determines that a public hearing is in the public interest. A request for a hearing, in writing, must state the nature of the issues to be raised at the hearing.

For more information or to submit a comment, mail the Surface Water Discharges Section at 89 Kings Highway, Dover, DE, 19901 or call 302-739-9946.

Striped bass size and possession limits public hearing June 25

The Department of Natural Resources and Environmental Control’s Division of Fish & Wildlife will conduct a public hearing at 6 p.m., Thursday, June 25, on the proposed revisions to the regulations governing recreational fishing for striped bass in Delaware.

The mandatory provisions of the Atlantic States Marine Fisheries Commission’s Atlantic Striped Bass Interstate Fishery Management Plan require a coastwide 18 percent reduction in striped bass removals.

The state developed two management options that were approved by the commission that, if implemented by DNREC, would meet the coastwide management measures.

According to a May 31 notice announcing the public hearing, option 1 provides a recreational possession limit of not less than 28 inches or more than 35 inches in total length, while option 2 provides a recreational possession limit of not less than 28 inches or more than 38 inches in total length. The notice says the first option results in a 1.8 percent reduction in commercial removals and a 20.4 percent reduction in recreational removals, while the second option results in an 18 percent reduction in commercial removals and an 18.18 percent reduction in recreational removals. Adoption of either option will ensure compliance with the fisheries management plan.

Both options retain the recreational summer slot season in the Delaware River, Bay and its tributaries – one striped bass between 20 and 25 inches, from July 1 through Aug. 31.

The proposed amendment may be inspected at DNREC’s office in person, by appointment only, at the Richardson & Robbins Building, 89 Kings Highway, Dover, and online as of June 1 at regulations.delaware.gov/services/current_issue.shtml.

For additional information on this proposed regulation, contact John Clark at 302-739-9914 or by email at John.Clark@delaware.gov.

The virtual public hearing will be held at www.stateofdelaware.webex.com/stateofdelaware/onstage/g.php?MTID=e9b3264... or via phone teleconference: Dial-in number: 1-408-418-9388; event number: 710 615 638. Live comments will not be accepted during the virtual hearing.

Written comments may be submitted to the hearing officer via the online comment form at www.dnrec.alpha.delaware.gov/public-hearings/comment-form/, via email to DNRECHearingComments@delaware.gov. Public comment will be accepted through the close of business Thursday, July 10.